Virginia

IEEFA Research

IEEFA U.S.: Duke Energy IRPs for Carolina utilities overlook opportunities for savings from renewables

IEEFA U.S.: Duke Energy IRPs for Carolina utilities overlook opportunities for savings from renewables

Integrated resource plans for Duke give short shrift to offshore wind, solar and battery storage

April 5, 2021 (IEEFA) ⎼ A pair of long-range plans for Carolina utilities owned by Duke Energy are all but ignoring potential savings from renewable energy sources over the next decade, according to a report by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis. The IEEFA report is the fourth in a series examining the […]

and April 5, 2021 Read More →
IEEFA U.S.: Energy transition to renewables likely to accelerate over next two to three years

IEEFA U.S.: Energy transition to renewables likely to accelerate over next two to three years

Coal, gas set to become biggest losers as renewable generation climbs quickly

March 31, 2021 (IEEFA) — The speed and scope of the energy transition to renewables will pick up pace over the next two to three years, according to the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis’ U.S. Power Sector Outlook 2021. Solar and battery storage adoption is enjoying almost exponential growth, and wind and solar […]

, , and March 31, 2021 Read More →
IEEFA U.S.: Financial rationale for Mountain Valley Pipeline has evaporated in changing market

IEEFA U.S.: Financial rationale for Mountain Valley Pipeline has evaporated in changing market

Falling demand, legal and regulatory challenges spell financial peril for pipeline project

March 8, 2021 (IEEFA) — A 303-mile pipeline that would move natural gas from the Appalachian Basin to markets in the eastern and southern U.S. is in financial jeopardy because of reduced demand projections and legal challenges, according to a report released today by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA). The Mountain […]

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IEEFA U.S.: Duke IRPs overstate likely future demand growth

IEEFA U.S.: Duke IRPs overstate likely future demand growth

More realistic estimates would undercut case for new gas-fired generation

February 3, 2021 (IEEFA) — Forecasts used by Duke Energy that predict steadily rising demand for electricity in the Carolinas ignore the company’s sales history in the past 15 years, which have been essentially flat, and should be challenged by state regulators, according to a new study by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial […]

and February 3, 2021 Read More →
IEEFA U.S.: Duke IRPs focus on new gas-fired generation, creating serious stranded-asset risks

IEEFA U.S.: Duke IRPs focus on new gas-fired generation, creating serious stranded-asset risks

Combined-cycle plants would be forced to retire well before end of operating life to meet 2050 net-zero goal

January 26, 2021 (IEEFA) — A pair of integrated resource plans (IRPs) for Duke Energy’s two North Carolina utilities rely heavily on the construction of gas-fired power plants that would have to be retired long before the end of their life span, according to a new report by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial […]

and January 26, 2021 Read More →
IEEFA U.S.: FERC gives blank check approval to pipeline builders, while investors and consumers pick up costs

IEEFA U.S.: FERC gives blank check approval to pipeline builders, while investors and consumers pick up costs

Commission’s 21-year-old pipeline policy puts contracts ahead of utility customers

December 17, 2020 (IEEFA) — The federal agency responsible for approving interstate gas pipeline projects is basing its decisions on contracts rather than on today’s consumer energy needs or the public interest, according to a report released today by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis. The report—FERC’s Failure to Analyze Energy Market Forces—details […]

, and December 17, 2020 Read More →
IEEFA U.S.: Virginia coal plant’s future isn’t bright: preparation for transition should commence now

IEEFA U.S.: Virginia coal plant’s future isn’t bright: preparation for transition should commence now

Virginia City Hybrid Energy Center (VCHEC), one of the newest in U.S., risks closure due to market forces

December 16, 2020 (IEEFA)—Retiring the Virginia City Hybrid Energy Center (VCHEC) will bring unnecessarily abrupt economic hardship to Wise County if state and local officials do not begin to plan now for a transition, concludes a report published today by the Institute for Energy Economic and Financial Analysis. The 8-year-old coal-fired power plant, owned by […]

, and December 16, 2020 Read More →
IEEFA U.S.: Investors in gas-fired projects in largest regional power system face substantial risks

IEEFA U.S.: Investors in gas-fired projects in largest regional power system face substantial risks

Eleven PJM projects under development may fail to prove financially viable

October 5, 2020 (IEEFA) — The landscape for developers of natural gas-fired power plants in the nation’s largest regional power system has shifted dramatically over the last decade, according to a joint study by the Applied Economics Clinic and the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis. The Pennsylvania-New Jersey-Maryland (PJM) system coordinates the flow […]

, and October 5, 2020 Read More →

IEEFA U.S.: Long-term contracts with American Municipal Power (AMP) saddle local communities with high prices

Dozens of communities in five states pay far above market price for electricity from Prairie State coal plant and Ohio River hydro projects

September 21, 2020 (IEEFA) — Long-term contracts with American Municipal Power (AMP) have stuck 83 communities in 41 counties across five states with extraordinarily high electricity prices for half a century, according to a briefing note released today by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis. The largest AMP member, Cleveland Public Power (CPP), […]

and September 21, 2020 Read More →
IEEFA report: Coal-fired power generation collapsing across Southeast U.S., longtime bastion of the industry

IEEFA report: Coal-fired power generation collapsing across Southeast U.S., longtime bastion of the industry

Decade-long influx of cheap gas started regional transition; solar expected to finish it

Oct. 1, 2019 (IEEFA U.S.) – Abundant gas supplies have transformed the electricity-generation sector in the traditionally coal-dominated Southeast U.S. Planned new solar construction in the region will add momentum to the energy transition and likely lead to the zeroing out of all coal generation in a number of states in the near future, finds […]

, and October 1, 2019 Read More →

More News and Commentary

Report: Offshore wind supply chain worth $109 billion over decade

Associated Press: A group studying the economics of offshore wind energy in the U.S. says building and operating the nascent industry will be worth $109 billion to businesses in its supply chain over the next 10 years. The report by the Special Initiative on Offshore Wind comes as states on both coasts and the Gulf […]

October 12, 2021 Read More →

Dominion to add record-setting 1,000MW of solar, battery storage in Virginia service territory

E&E News ($): Dominion Energy Inc., Virginia’s largest electric utility, is planning to develop a record level of new solar and energy projects in the state, according to a statement yesterday. In a filing with the Virginia State Corporation Commission, the company proposed a total of 15 solar and energy storage projects: 11 utility-scale solar […]

September 17, 2021 Read More →

Dominion, Nature Conservancy to convert land at former Virginia coal mine to solar farm

EnergyWire ($): Virginia’s largest electric utility and a global conservation group have announced plans to convert former coal mines into a solar farm, adding to a growing number of projects across the country aimed at repurposing old fossil fuel sites. Dominion Energy Virginia and the Nature Conservancy said yesterday they will redevelop 1,200 acres of […]

September 14, 2021 Read More →

Virginia rejects Appalachian Power bid to extend lives of coal plants

West Virginia Public Broadcasting: The Virginia Corporation Commission on Monday rejected Appalachian Power’s plan to keep the John Amos and Mountaineer power plants in West Virginia operating through 2040. The commission denied the company permission to make wastewater treatment upgrades at the plants and pass the cost on to electric power customers in the state. […]

August 24, 2021 Read More →

Dominion plans filing largest clean energy Virginia submission to date

Utility Dive: Dominion Energy is preparing to file its largest clean energy submission to date as part of Virginia’s triennial review process, totaling $1.5 billion in investment, CEO Robert Blue said on the utility’s second quarter earnings call Friday.  The filing, due later this month, will include up to 1,100 MW of solar, either owned […]

August 9, 2021 Read More →

AEP loses bid to keep 50-year-old coal-fired plant operating until 2040

Charleston Gazette-Mail: Kentucky state utility regulators have dealt a blow to plans to keep a Marshall County coal-fired generating plant operating until its planned retirement date of 2040. The Kentucky Public Service Commission issued an order Thursday rejecting Kentucky Power’s request for a certificate to implement and recover costs for federally required environmental upgrades at […]

July 16, 2021 Read More →

EPA recommends against Mountain Valley Pipeline crossing permit

Virginia Mercury: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has recommended that the Army Corps of Engineers not grant Mountain Valley Pipeline a critical permit to cross several hundred streams in Virginia and West Virginia.  “EPA has identified a number of substantial concerns with the project as currently proposed, including whether all feasible avoidance and minimization measures […]

July 12, 2021 Read More →

Maine blocks offshore wind in state waters but encourages federal sites

The Hill: New offshore wind projects will be prohibited from Maine state waters reserved for recreation and fishing under a new measure signed into law Wednesday by Gov. Janet Mills (D).   The bill was prompted by concerns from members of the commercial fishing industry on how they will be impacted by the state’s investment in […]

July 9, 2021 Read More →

Orsted bids for second Maryland offshore wind project

Maryland Matters: The Danish offshore wind developer Ørsted announced Wednesday that it has submitted a bid to generate up to 760 megawatts of power with a proposed second offshore wind project off the coast of Maryland.  The project, called Skipjack Wind 2, is in response to the Maryland Public Service Commission’s call for proposals for […]

July 9, 2021 Read More →

White House opens review of nation’s largest proposed wind farm

S&P Global Market Intelligence ($): The Biden administration on July 1 announced it opened a review of a proposed offshore wind project, Dominion Energy Inc.’s 2,640-MW Virginia Beach Offshore Wind Project (Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind). It is the fifth offshore wind project the administration has committed to reviewing since January, part of a surge of […]

July 2, 2021 Read More →
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